While we're talking about why the recent adaptation was total ass, i came across a youtube video that makes some good points about why it didnt work, and what would have worked better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6CJaChQ7rQ He makes the argument that the manga is a picturesque work, and they tried to adapt it as a dynamic work. Picturesque meaning its about the visual detail and not the motion in it. He argues that the 1997 anime and its style, colors, etc. were much more fitting. He also argued that the world of berserk is very gritty, grimy, and dirty, and cgi and 3d computer models are always very glossy and cant portray that grit.

The arguments are alright, but the guy seems to pussy out at the end, almost as though he's trying to seem objective in the eyes of the anime lovers. He spends the entire video criticizing the movies and 2016 series, only to turn around and start mocking people who dislike the animes for not doing the manga justice. Pot calling kettle black, dude. People have every reason to find all the series unsatisfactory, including the one from '97, and there is no reason to be thankful that Berserk has been animated so many times when nobody can get it right.

I see,thanks for sharing, you seem to know a thing or two about this stuff so I'll take your word for it. The way he put the panels together was pretty neat to me but I have zero knowledge in this field so I'm not hard to impress

I liked the video more than I thought I would, since it's one of those things where I find the observations about visual storytelling to be illuminating even if I disagree with the thesis or conclusion. Not bad if you get past the click-bait title. Manga is by definition picturesque. You can make either a picturesque or a kinetic anime, and in either case you can do it well or poorly. I disagree with the video about the movie's kinetic style necessarily being a bad thing. It's different from 1997 or the manga, but in the 2D parts it actually works pretty well. For example, I liked the way the assassination of Adonis was shot, and thought it was just as valid as the way that 1997 did it. The movies went too far with the kinetic stuff mainly in the 3D CG mass battle scenes, where they got carried away swooping around with the camera or depicting each individual duel between the extras rather than making everything more tight and focused. In fact I don't really mind the 3D fights themselves, as I can kind of ignore the character models and appreciate the choreography. Perhaps the problem is more that they dwelled too much on the nuts and bolts of combat, and not enough on the expressions and emotions?

2016 is basically the worst possible way to make a kinetic anime, and the bizarre thing is that, after initially making up its own bad storyboards, it continued to do so after it had started using the exact panel sequence of the manga as the basis for its storyboards. The PS2 game and Berserk Musou actually had some good kinetic filming in them too, and we could see how awful the new anime was just by comparing it with those same scenes from the videogames. The 1997 anime wasn't the only way to properly adapt *Berserk*; it just has the reputation of being the best adaptation so far because the quality was pretty solid all-around, and it remained faithful to the story except for leaving out Puck/Silat/Skull Knight and ending too abruptly. Of course that prevented it from being a perfect adaptation, but I don't hold it so much against it because the manga was still at a pretty early stage, and they probably just trying to promote the manga rather than pave the way for a long-form adaptation.

well like i said, i thought he had some good points. not that the video itself was particularly outstanding or anything. But i don't know anything about all that artistic stuff, and im not very sharp when it comes to making criticisms or arguments. so lets just say im stupid lol jokes or not jokes aside, thanks for your input. I like seeing your varying opinions and i think it helps me become a smarter fan. regardless of how i feel like sometimes.

The 1997 anime wasn't the only way to properly adapt *Berserk*; it just has the reputation of being the best adaptation so far because the quality was pretty solid all-around, and it remained faithful to the story except for leaving out Skull Knight and ending too abruptly.

Actually there's quite a bit more content the 1997 adaptation left out. And to be honest there's no lack of things to complain about, including its low budget (even for the time). The reason it's the best is because the others are absolutely terrible.

I also missed Wyald, as the encounter with him and Zodd is WAAY to important to ignore! Same goes with the "rather" recent trilogy of movies. Why miss out on great story and context?

Because this way it wouldn't be limited within 24 (?) episodes, or they'd fit it in at the expense of being detrimental to other parts of the story. Showing the escape from kushan assassins and then the Wyald pursue and battle would take at least a whole episode.

Because this way it wouldn't be limited within 24 (?) episodes, or they'd fit it in at the expense of being detrimental to other parts of the story. Showing the escape from kushan assassins and then the Wyald pursue and battle would take at least a whole episode.

That doesn't really hold up considering that team added about 20 minutes worth of Adon filler.

I finally sat down and watched season 2. I'd been putting it off forever because i was so disappointed with season one. I'll be honest I went in with probably the lowest expectations I've ever had for anything berserk and.. I actually found myself enjoying it.

Objectively the series was still pretty bad, lots of story cut, sound effects, awkward 3d- but that's all already been covered here. On the other hand I was unreasonably excited to see more parts of the story adapted into a video format. It was like a guilty pleasure that I would never share with any of my friends. I just wish we could finally get an adaption of berserk that I could be proud of and actually be excited to show my non-berserk friends.

My first experience with Berserk was actually the first golden age movie, and at the time I thought it was just some B studio churning out whatever adaption was handed to them. Despite the quality of the movie some of the characters really hooked my interest and I decided to dig into the source material (which may have been the best decision I ever made). Maybe this means I have a soft spot for bad adaptions but without them I never would have started struggling down the path of Berserk.

tl;dr: wish we could finally get an adaption of berserk that I'd be excited to show my non-berserk friends